Sunday

For as long as I can remember Sunday has always been a melancholy day for me. I did not grow up living down the street from my grandparents or any relatives for that matter. Therefore, weekends were for visits either by them to our house or a road-trip to Georgia. Though our family wasn't 1000s of miles away seeing them was not a spur of the moment thing. Sunday has always been the day to leave. Now that I am grown, Sunday has become an alone day and once again the day to leave. When Allison comes home from college she has to leave on Sunday afternoon to get back to school. Ashley is usually doing her thing and Chris is almost always on the road. Hence...Sunday is a very lonely day. But the silver lining is that Chris and the girls always come home. That is something that warms my heart and makes me very happy!!

Insomnia...

Why are my eyes open!?! I am completely exhausted but my thoughts are not. I'm not exactly sure why my brain is in over-drive tonight. Ehh...it happens sometimes. 

The weekend was wonderful. My dad's birthday was Friday. The girls and I took him to dinner. I absolutely love his sense of humor. He has always been a bit of a prankster and possesses a dry but witty personality. He is not a talker but when he does he says the funniest stuff. So, at the restaurant I tell our waiter that it's my dad's birthday. At the end of our meal the waiter comes to our table and asks my dad his name and then asks him how old he is. Without hesitation my dad answers "I'm 30 today." The waiter looks at all of us and then looks at my dad with confusion on his face and asked my dad a second time how old he is. And for a second time without missing a beat my dad said "I'm 30."  Hilarious!! 

Saturday was a busy day full of vet visits, errands and Alabama football. Vet visits went well, errands were conquered and Bama won! It was a good day. UGH, it is now 4:47am on Monday morning. Thank goodness Columbus Day is a firm holiday or it would be a really long work day. 

Maybe I'm still awake because I'm excited! My sweet boy is on his way home! YAY!!

Dixie Dreamin'

So I'm driving home from work today, listening to my Ipod and pondering all the problems with the world. Thinking about today, tomorrow and yesterday all at once.  Then, a song came on that simply made me forget about all of that. At the very moment I realized what I was hearing all I could do was smile. For a brief five minutes, I was simply thankful for my simple Southern upbringing and life. Good family, good friends, wonderful times making wonderful memories. For that five minutes, I did not think about what a mess the world has become, worry about the future of my children, family and friends or stress about healthcare and politics. For that five minutes, all I thought about was warm summer nights, fireflies, laying in the cool grass looking at a clear sky, bright stars and a full moon, walking barefoot, riding in a pickup with the windows down and swinging on a tire swing. At the end of that five minutes, the world wasn't so important anymore and my perspective was more positive. Worry about the things I can change and let the rest go. God has a plan. He is in charge so no need to worry. In that moment,  I realized that life can be as simple as I choose.

With all of that being said, thank you to the Southern Boys Band for a song that allowed me, if only for a few minutes, to lose myself.  https://soundcloud.com/the-southern-boys-band/dixie-dreaming

Milestones

Some readers will completely get this blog and others will not have a clue with regard to what they are about to read, at least not until they experience it for themselves. Some might say that I'm being whiny and, in some ways, they will be correct. BUT this is my blog so I'll whine if I want too! I would prefer to call it sweet reflection and sudden reality.

When the decision is made to have children the planning begins, the big news arrives, a baby is on the way AND even more planning starts. Dreams and expectations culminate in the precious birth. THEN, there are the milestones. As parents, we measure everything in our child's life by "firsts." First steps, first words, first tooth...I could go on and on with the firsts. I have been blessed with two daughters so I have gotten to experience all the firsts twice!! 

My baby girl will be moving to college soon. Therefore, I have really been reflecting on the last 18 years or rather the last 22 since that is the age of my older daughter. Through all of the reflecting, something occurred to me and I almost stopped breathing. There are no more firsts. Well, almost no more. As their mother, the only really big milestone left for me to experience with my babies is to see them get married and start families of their own. There are a couple of firsts other than that but they aren't the biggies in comparison. 

I suppose the silver lining is that once my girls have their own children I will have the pleasure of seeing them experience the firsts with their babies. Hence, the circle of life. Did I mention that I'm feeling extraordinarily old tonight? 

"My Life"...The Musical

So, here I am just chillin' on a Friday night. Spending some quality time with myself listening to music.  Like it or hate it...good or bad...music tells my story. Actually, music tells everyone's story. Some of us are just more aware of it than others. My earliest memories are of family gatherings in which someone always had a guitar with them. At some point in the night they would grab it and the pickin' and singin' would begin. I recall them singing everything from old hymns to popular music. This would go on for hours. It really wasn't a proper family get together if the pickin' and singing' didn't happen. My parents used to have a huge bon-fire every fall and to this day I can remember the singing (and the little boy who put a melted marshmallow in my hair). My grandmother always knew where there was going to be an all night (or what seemed to be all night to a 7 year old) gospel singing. Those were the best!! My grandparents went to a small country church where my grandmother sang in the choir and when we would go to visit she always let me sit with her. It was there that I learned every word to "Stepping on the Clouds." My grandfather was very musically inclined. Though he never formally took music lessons, there weren't to many instruments he couldn't pick up and in a few minutes figure out how to play them, especially the piano. He would play for hours when he and my grandmother would come to visit us. He would just sit down and decide he was going to play a song (never read music...just played) and would.  I remember being just a tiny kid, my dad had a roadster and Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" was the song. To this day, I associate that song with my daddy. My mother used to have a picture of me standing next to that car with pink sponge rollers in my hair. I suppose she still has it somewhere, I hope. I could not have been more than 3 years old (and who says little kids don't have memories?) 

I could go on and on and on but I think you get the idea. It is my goal to, one day, put "My Life"...The Musical on a CD or two. Thanks to itunes I'm slowly collecting the material as I pull it from my memories. 

Happy Easter and Time Differences

Happy Easter! Praise God! He is Risen!! "Because HE lives I can face tomorrow" God is good. Everyday that I get to share how He has blessed me is a good day. I am a sinner saved by grace and know that I am not worthy but He loves me anyway. He died for me. Think about that for a minute. Jesus died so I could live. This one simple truth is what has brought me such peace when weathering life's storms. I am uniquely and beautifully created in His image to be everything that I am meant to be. Hallelujah!!

So, obviously it's super late and I'm fighting sleep (which is a regular occurrence for me). My schedule stays crazy because I tend to adjust to Chris' "travel" schedule instead of my at "home" schedule.  I plan much of my time around when Chris is supposed to call me. When he is on the road time is so limited for us to have a conversation that I don't want to ever miss his call. However, the last week has been extra weird. Chris and the boys are touring in Australia. There is a 16 hour time difference. To put things in perspective, Chris calls me at 7am every morning and it's 11pm for him. His day is ending as mine is starting. I'm awake when he's asleep and he's awake when I'm asleep. I have one thing to say about this set up!! IT STINKS!! I am thrilled that he is experiencing such a wonderful opportunity and I really hope we can go back together one day. BUT, I feel like I haven't spoken to him in a month. He will be home in a couple of days and the closer that time gets the more impatient I find myself (patience is not something I am very good at either).

Sidenote: In the last couple of weeks I have fallen in love with Justin Timberlake's song "Mirrors." I feel certain that the lyrics are reflective of his new marriage but they make me think of me and Chris. I do miss my sweet boy so much. Is it Tuesday yet?!?

At Last....

Spring is almost here!!! Soon my ultra grumpy Winter demeanor will be totally melted away and I will be fluttering about like Mary Poppins. Everything is starting to bloom and that makes me (in the wise words of Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty) happy, happy, happy!!